Aligning content and social network audience using analytics and/or visualization

ABSTRACT

Various embodiments provide for the use of analytics to determine a number of key factors prior to a user sending a communication (e.g., an email or instant message, making an online social media post, or accepting or requesting friendship on a social media site). The analytics may determine content, subject, emotion, relationships, and other relevant details when users interact (e.g., with email or other social software). Any alerts/suggestions provided can be provided in real-time as the person types.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of aligningcontent and social network audience using analytics and/orvisualization.

In various examples, aligning content and social network audience usinganalytics and/or visualization may be implemented in the form ofsystems, methods and/or algorithms.

Social media posts (e.g., social network site wall posts, micro bloggingsite posts) and other communications (e.g., instant messaging (IM),email) along with friendship requests and acceptances all typicallysuffer from a lack of an automated system to scan the communication, tolearn information about the communication (e.g., the poster, theintended recipient(s), and the related content) and to alert the posterto relevant information prior to the completion of the intendedcommunication.

SUMMARY

In various embodiments, methodologies may be provided that automaticallyalign content and social network audience using analytics and/orvisualization.

In one embodiment, a method for identifying questionable content in aproposed communication from a sender, wherein the proposed communicationcomprises initial content, is provided, the method comprising: receivingby a processor the initial content; receiving by the processor anidentification of at least one proposed recipient; receiving, by theprocessor, private information associated with the proposed recipientfrom a source of private information about the proposed recipient;receiving, by the processor, public information associated with theproposed recipient from a source of public information about theproposed recipient; identifying by the processor, based upon thereceived initial content, the received private information and thereceived public information, at least a portion of the initial contentas the questionable content; and indicating by the processor, to thesender, the identified questionable content.

In another embodiment, a computer readable storage medium, tangiblyembodying a program of instructions executable by the computer foridentifying questionable content in a proposed communication from asender, wherein the proposed communication comprises initial content, isprovided, the program of instructions, when executing, performing thefollowing steps: receiving the initial content; receiving anidentification of at least one proposed recipient; receiving privateinformation associated with the proposed recipient from a source ofprivate information about the proposed recipient; receiving publicinformation associated with the proposed recipient from a source ofpublic information about the proposed recipient; identifying, based uponthe received initial content, the received private information and thereceived public information, at least a portion of the initial contentas the questionable content; and indicating, to the sender, theidentified questionable content.

In another embodiment, a computer-implemented system for identifyingquestionable content in a proposed communication from a sender, whereinthe proposed communication comprises initial content, is provided, thesystem comprising: a first receiving element configured to receive theinitial content; a second receiving element configured to receive anidentification of at least one proposed recipient; a third receivingelement configured to receive private information associated with theproposed recipient from a source of private information about theproposed recipient; a fourth receiving element configured to receivepublic information associated with the proposed recipient from a sourceof public information about the proposed recipient; an identifyingelement configured to identify, based upon the received initial content,the received private information and the received public information, atleast a portion of the initial content as the questionable content; andan indicating element configured to indicate, to the sender, theidentified questionable content.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent to one skilled in the art, in view of the followingdetailed description taken in combination with the attached drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of an implementation according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 depicts example user interfaces showing analysis of an initial(or original) content (e.g., email or post) and an annotated version ofthe initial content according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 depicts a flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of a system according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of a system according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In one embodiment, aligning content and social network audience (e.g.,using analytics and visualization) comprises: analyzing a communicationfor content considering an audience; and identifying a portion of thecontent for updating (e.g., changing, filtering, removing) based on theaudience.

In another example, the aligning content and social network audiencefurther comprises: extracting (after identifying) the portion of thecontent which is sensitive (in the context of the audience). In onespecific example, such sensitive content is selected from a groupincluding (but not limited to): ideas, subject, emotion, relationship,company, words, and/or social interaction as it pertains to theaudience.

In another example, the identifying comprises: presenting the portion ofthe content which is sensitive by utilizing a visual cue selected from agroup including (but not limited to): highlighting, bolding,italicizing; and/or coloring.

In another example, the analyzing further comprises: utilizing learnedbehavior extracted from a profile.

In another example, the aligning content and social network audiencefurther comprises: suggesting changes to the sender(s) of thecommunication.

In other specific examples, the following functionality is provided: (a)before a user makes a social media post, the user is informed to whomthat post will be visible and if the post likely contains content oropinions that the user would not want shared with the audience; (b)before a user accepts a friendship request, the user is informed ifthere is any content on the user's social media site that the userlikely would not want to be shared with the new friend; and/or (c)before a users accepts an additional person in a group IM chat, the useris informed if there is any content in the chat prior to the new personjoining that the user would likely not want to be shared with the newperson.

Further, if there is content that the user would not want to share (suchas in the examples above), the user may be given an option to changeand/or remove this information.

In various additional examples, the following functionality is provided:(a) before a first user finalizes a friendship request, the first useris informed if the other user they are asking to be friends with hascontent on their wall (and/or belongs to one or more groups) that thefirst user would likely find inappropriate; and/or (b) when sending acommunication (e.g., an email or making a social media post), the senderis informed if they should include other people to receive thecommunication (e.g., in the email distribution or additional friends orcircle of friends for a post).

In various additional examples, embodiments: (a) perform deep analyticson the content, the metadata about the sender, and the metadata aboutthe intended recipient(s); and/or (b) present variousoptions/recommendations to the sender about how and why to alter thecontent of the post, limit or expand the visibility of the contentand/or limit/expand their social network.

For the purposes of describing and claiming the present invention theterm “social network” is intended to refer to a grouping of peopleaccording to one or more relationships between and/or among them. In oneexample, a social network may include a plurality of members and may beorganized and maintained via a computer system.

For the purposes of describing and claiming the present invention theterm “communication” is intended to refer to dissemination ofinformation from one or more people to one more other people. In variousexamples, such communication may include (but not be limited to): a textmessage; an email; a post (e.g., a blog post); a repost (e.g., a blogrepost); a friend request; an instant message (IM); a forum post, a chatroom post, a wiki, a social media post; a file; and/or a document.

For the purposes of describing and claiming the present invention theterm “visibility network” is intended to refer to those recipient(s) ofa communication who would be able to read or otherwise access thecommunication in the event that the communication were to be sent.

For the purposes of describing and claiming the present invention theterm “questionable content” is intended to refer to content of acommunication that would likely be: (a) objectionable (or otherwiseupsetting) to a recipient in the context of the communication; and/or(b) inappropriate for a recipient to view in the context of thecommunication.

For the purposes of describing and claiming the present invention theterm “private information” (e.g., as used in the context of privateinformation about a proposed recipient) is intended to refer toinformation that is not readily obtainable via publically accessiblesources. In various examples, such private information may be obtaineddirectly from a person such as via email or instant message.

For the purposes of describing and claiming the present invention theterm “public information” (e.g., as used in the context of publicinformation about a proposed recipient) is intended to refer toinformation that is readily obtainable via publically accessiblesources. In various examples, such public information may be obtainedfrom a website.

Various embodiments use analytics to analyze one or more communicationsto discover the following artifacts: (a) the latent meaning of thecommunication; (b) the content and various subject matters of thecommunication; (c) the degree of positive or negative inference on thesubject matter; (d) the visibility network associated with thecommunication; (e) metadata about the intended recipients of thecommunication (in one example this is collected by looking at publicinformation about the recipients(s) as well as metadata the sender hasstored about the sender's contacts); and/or (f) past behavior/contentto/from a target audience (in one example, this can be stored inprofiles).

In one example, based on the information collected as described above,analytics are further used to determine: (a) if the meaning/content ofthe communication interferes (or likely interferes) in any way with theknown facts about the recipient(s); (b) if there are other contacts thatwould be interested in the meaning/content of the communication; and/or(c) suggested actions for the sender to avoid a potential problem and/orto widen/expand the visibility network associated with thecommunication.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a block diagram of an implementation accordingto an embodiment of the present invention is shown. As seen in this FIG.1, a communication is input to content analytics 101. Output 103 of thecontent analytics (e.g., subject matter, latent meaning, degree ofpositive/negative) is input into impact analytics 105. Also input toimpact analytics 105 is the visibility network associated with thecommunication and various metadata 107 (including, e.g., public factsabout the recipients and local facts about recipients that are notpublically known. Also input to the impact analytics are previouslylearned behaviors 109. Further, recommendation analytics 111 receivesoutput from the impact analytics and provides suggested actions withvisual representation (see FIG. 2). Various examples of such suggestedactions with visual representation include (but are not limited to):modify communication; add/remove recipients(s); clean communication ofreferences to people/subjects; and/or alter wording.

Referring now to FIG. 2, depicted are example user interfaces showinganalysis of an initial (or original) content (e.g., email or post) (see201) and an annotated version of the initial content (see 203) accordingto an embodiment of the present invention (as used in this FIG. 2, andthroughout the disclosure, the placeholder label “aaabbbccc” is intendedto refer to any inappropriate, objectionable or otherwise disparagingword or phrase).

As seen in this FIG. 2, various instances of inappropriate,objectionable or otherwise disparaging words or phrases that occur inthe original communication 201 are flagged (that is, indicated visually)in annotated communication 203. Further, annotated communication 203includes various suggestions for changing the inappropriate,objectionable or otherwise disparaging words or phrases.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a method for identifying questionable contentin a proposed communication from a sender, wherein the proposedcommunication comprises initial content is shown. As seen in this FIG.3, the method of this embodiment comprises: at 301—receiving by aprocessor the initial content; at 303—receiving by the processor anidentification of at least one proposed recipient; at 305—receiving, bythe processor, private information associated with the proposedrecipient from a source of private information about the proposedrecipient; at 307—receiving, by the processor, public informationassociated with the proposed recipient from a source of publicinformation about the proposed recipient; at 309—identifying by theprocessor, based upon the received initial content, the received privateinformation and the received public information, at least a portion ofthe initial content as the questionable content; and at 311—indicatingby the processor, to the sender, the identified questionable content.

In one example, the private information may comprise information (e.g.,emails, text messages, etc) that the sender has about the proposedrecipient including (but not limited to): interests, prejudices, likes,dislikes.

In another example, the public information may comprise information(e.g., email, micro blogging posts, blog posts, social networking site,web, articles, blogs, books, etc. made by recipients) including (but notlimited to): interests, prejudices, likes, dislikes.

In another example, any steps may be carried out in the order recited orthe steps may be carried out in another order.

Referring now to FIG. 4, in another embodiment, a system 400 foridentifying questionable content in a proposed communication from asender, wherein the proposed communication comprises initial content isprovided. This system may include the following elements: a firstreceiving element 401 configured to receive the initial content; asecond receiving element 403 configured to receive an identification ofat least one proposed recipient; a third receiving element 405configured to receive private information associated with the proposedrecipient from a source of private information about the proposedrecipient; a fourth receiving element 407 configured to receive publicinformation associated with the proposed recipient from a source ofpublic information about the proposed recipient; an identifying element409 configured to identify, based upon the received initial content, thereceived private information and the received public information, atleast a portion of the initial content as the questionable content; andan indicating element 411 configured to indicate, to the sender, theidentified questionable content.

Still referring to FIG. 4, the system 400 may further comprise: aprohibiting element 413 configured to prohibit the sender fromcompleting the proposed communication until after the sender removesand/or changes the identified questionable content that is indicated tothe sender; an instruction receiving element 415 configured to receivefrom the sender an instruction to: (a) remove the identifiedquestionable content that is indicated to the sender; (b) change theidentified questionable content that is indicated to the sender; or (c)any combination thereof; a changing element 417 configured to change theidentified questionable content; and a removing element 419 configuredto remove at least one proposed recipient from a distribution list basedupon the identified questionable content.

Still referring to FIG. 4, each of the elements may be operativelyconnected together via system bus 402. In one example, communicationbetween and among the various elements may be bi-directional. In anotherexample, the communication may be carried out via the Internet, anintranet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or any otherdesired communication channel(s). In another example, some or all ofthese elements may be implemented in a computer system of the type shownin FIG. 5.

Referring now to FIG. 5, this figure shows a hardware configuration ofcomputing system 500 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. As seen, this hardware configuration has at least oneprocessor or central processing unit (CPU) 511. The CPUs 511 areinterconnected via a system bus 512 to a random access memory (RAM) 514,read-only memory (ROM) 516, input/output (I/O) adapter 518 (forconnecting peripheral devices such as disk units 521 and tape drives 540to the bus 512), user interface adapter 522 (for connecting a keyboard524, mouse 526, speaker 528, microphone 532, and/or other user interfacedevice to the bus 512), a communications adapter 534 for connecting thesystem 500 to a data processing network, the Internet, an intranet, alocal area network (LAN), etc., and a display adapter 536 for connectingthe bus 512 to a display device 538 and/or printer 539 (e.g., a digitalprinter or the like).

Of note, while various figures may show various entities communicating,it is to be understood that the figures are actually referring tocommunication by computer system(s) or the like that are owned, leased,operated, used by, in the possession of, and/or controlled by each ofthe entities.

As described herein are mechanisms that use analytics to determine anumber of key factors prior to a user sending a communication (e.g., anemail or instant message, making an online social media post, oraccepting or requesting friendship on a social media site). Theanalytics may determine content, subject, emotion, relationships, andother relevant details when users interact (e.g., with email or othersocial software). In addition, any previous learned behaviors can befactored in to the analysis and/or stored as profiles. Anyalerts/suggestions provided can be provided in real-time as the persontypes.

Reference will now be made to a number of example implementations. Thefirst of these examples is an instant messaging implementation. In thisexample, John, Bob, and Sue, who are all managers, are involved in agroup chat session and are waiting for Bill (who is a non-manager) tojoin. Prior to Bill joining, the managers chat about personnel issuesand policies. Bill now attempts to join the chat and can scroll up andsee what was said prior to him joining. At the time Bill accepts hisinvitation to the chat, the chat content is analyzed and the currentparticipants are warned that Bill, a non-manager is about to join andthere are references to personnel and/or benefits and/or salarydiscussions in the chat that he can see. The system knows that Bill is anon-manager and that the content may not be appropriate. It then givesthe existing participants the option to cleanse the chat (e.g., deleteinappropriate content) prior to Bill joining and seeing thisinformation.

The next of these examples is an example of accepting a “friendshiprequest”. In this example, John gets a friendship request from Bob. Thesystem will analyze all information that will be visible to Bob onceJohn accepts the friendship request. The system then optionally warnsJohn of any content that may embarrass him or that Bob would findobjectionable. For example, a year ago John posted on his social networksite wall that he met Bob at a social function and thought he was aaaabbbccc who dressed poorly but drove a cool sports car. Now a yearlater, John gets a friendship request from Bob as they now are both partof the same sports car club and have since become friendly due to theircommon interest. John has completely forgotten about this disparagingpost. If he accepts Bob's friendship request, this could lead to anembarrassing situation because as John's friend, Bob will have access toJohn's social network site wall and may see this year-old post. Thesystem alerts John and allows him to cleanse his wall posts (e.g., toselectively remove content related to Bob), then accept Bob's friendshiprequest.

John and Bob are now friends. Bob tells John he is also a member ofgroup X. This fact may not go over well with others, but John adds thisfact as metadata about his new friend Bob as it is not part of Bob'smetadata that he shares publically. Now, John is typing a post he wantsto put on his social network site wall. The system does a real-time scanas John types while scanning Bob's publically available metadata alongwith the metadata that John has stored about Bob and finds that John'spost makes negative remarks about group X, of which Bob is a member. Thesystem warns John of this fact allowing him to edit his post.

The next of these examples is an example of a social media post. In thisexample, John is about to post to his social network site wall somethingthat contains remarks about Company A. The system analyzes the post anddetermines a level of positive or negative inference on the subjectmatter. Is the post mildly positive/negative or is it stronglypositive/negative? A post containing “aaabbbccc Company A”, or “CompanyA's founder is a aaabbbccc” would receive a strongly negative ratingversus a post that contained “Company A's founder is a shrewd businessman, but I don't always agree with his decisions” which would get a mildnegative rating. The system can warm John, for example, that two of hisfriends who have access to his social network site wall work for CompanyA. The system can also tell him, for example, that three other of hisfriends work for Company B and since that Company B is friendly withCompany A, they may not look too kindly on his post. In addition, Johnmay have, for example, used profanity in the post and the system warnshim that his mother will see the post. The system could then suggest aset of possible actions: 1) Selectively remove the questionable contentfrom the post. 2) Tone down the questionable content. For example,suggest changing “Company A's founder is a aaabbbccc” to “I thinkCompany A's founder has some shortcomings.” 3) Make the post lessvisible by removing those that might find it objectionable (e.g., removethe mother and five friends at Company A and Company B). 4) Suggest toinclude others (a different “circle of friends”), who work for CompanyC, and are likely to find the post amusing/informative/non-offensive.

As described herein are embodiments that provide for the automaticassimilation of deep knowledge about a visibility network (that is,potential communication recipient(s)). The knowledge may be obtainedfrom the recipients' profiles, relationships and/orlikes/dislikes/prejudices through multiple dynamic mechanisms includingprivate information and public information obtained from a broad set ofsocial media networks. In addition, the use of advanced analytics,applicability to a wide range of social media technologies, and/orreal-time alerting may be provided.

As described herein are embodiments that provide for utilizing a deepunderstanding of the content of a communication in the context of theapplicable visibility network in order to, based on this understanding,make targeted suggestions for adding/removing people to/from thevisibility network.

In another example, various embodiments provide for the ability todynamically and in real-time discover aspects of recipients in avisibility network and make various suggestions. The suggestions mayrelate to (but not be limited to): suggestions regarding inappropriatecontent; suggestions regarding objectionable content.

In another example, various embodiments provide for the ability todetermine inappropriate and/or objectionable content based on thecontent and what is learned about the recipients, their relationships tothe sender, to each other, as well as inferred likes and dislikes. Forexample, if John works for Company A, he is likely to be offended bynegative comments about Company B because Company A and Company B arefriendly. Joe would likely not be offended as he works for Company C(which is not friendly with Company A).

In another example, various embodiments provide for the ability todynamically inspect social networks, online calendars (e.g., withrespect to recurring events such as meetings), and/or online content tosuggest adding and/or or removing recipients.

In another example, analysis is done in real-time on the machine (thatis, computer) of the source user (that is, the sender of thecommunication).

In another example, one or more profiles (e.g., sender and/or recipientprofiles) may be used (but are not required).

In another example, analysis of one or more previous communications(e.g., sender and/or communications) may be made (but are not required).

In another example, predefined rules may be used (but are not required).

In another example, analytics (e.g. “for” or “against” inferences) maybe carried out via text analytics.

In another example, analytics/visualization may be carried out inreal-time and/or may be adaptive.

In one embodiment, a method for identifying questionable content in aproposed communication from a sender, wherein the proposed communicationcomprises initial content, is provided, the method comprising: receivingby a processor the initial content; receiving by the processor anidentification of at least one proposed recipient; receiving, by theprocessor, private information associated with the proposed recipientfrom a source of private information about the proposed recipient;receiving, by the processor, public information associated with theproposed recipient from a source of public information about theproposed recipient; identifying by the processor, based upon thereceived initial content, the received private information and thereceived public information, at least a portion of the initial contentas the questionable content; and indicating by the processor, to thesender, the identified questionable content.

In one example, the proposed communication comprises: (a) a textmessage; (b) an email; (c) a post; (d) a repost; (e) a friend request;(f) an instant message; (g) a forum post; (h) a chat room post; (i); awiki; (j) a file; (k) a document; or (l) any combination thereof.

In another example, the identification of the proposed recipientcomprises one of: (a) a single email recipient; (b) an emaildistribution list; (c) a single instant message recipient; (d) a groupinstant chat list; (e) a social network distribution list; (f) a socialnetwork friends list; or (g) any combination thereof.

In another example, the source of private information comprises one of:(a) one or more emails sent by the proposed recipient; (b) one or moreinstant messages sent by the proposed recipient; (c) metadata associatedwith the proposed recipient; or (d) any combination thereof.

In another example: (a) the one or more emails had been sent by theproposed recipient to the sender; (b) the one or more instant messageshad been sent by the proposed recipient to the sender; (c) the metadatahad been sent by the proposed recipient to the sender.

In another example, the source of public information comprises one of:(a) one or more emails sent by the proposed recipient; (b) one or moremicro blogging posts sent by the proposed recipient; (c) one or morearticles by the proposed recipient; (d) one or more blogs by theproposed recipient; (e) one or more books by the proposed recipient; (f)one or more social network site wall posts by the proposed recipient; or(d) any combination thereof.

In another example, the identified questionable content is indicated tothe sender by visually modifying the initial content.

In another example, the visual modification comprises one of: (a)highlighting; (b) bolding; (c) italicizing; (d) coloring; or (e) anycombination thereof.

In another example, the method further comprises: receiving, by theprocessor, an identification of a plurality of proposed recipients;receiving, by the processor, private information associated with each ofsaid plurality of proposed recipients from a source of privateinformation about each of said plurality of proposed recipients;receiving, by the processor, public information associated with each ofsaid plurality of proposed recipients from a source of publicinformation about each of said plurality of proposed recipients;identifying, by the processor, based upon the received initial content,the received private information about each of said plurality ofproposed recipients and the received public information about each ofsaid plurality of proposed recipients, at least a portion of the initialcontent as the questionable content.

In another example, the method further comprises prohibiting, by theprocessor, the sender from completing the proposed communication untilafter the sender removes or changes the identified questionable contentthat is indicated to the sender.

In another example, the method further comprises receiving by theprocessor, from the sender, an instruction to: (a) remove the identifiedquestionable content that is indicated to the sender; (b) change theidentified questionable content that is indicated to the sender; or (c)any combination thereof.

In another example, the method further comprises removing, by theprocessor, at least one proposed recipient from a distribution listbased upon the identified questionable content.

In another embodiment, a computer readable storage medium, tangiblyembodying a program of instructions executable by the computer foridentifying questionable content in a proposed communication from asender, wherein the proposed communication comprises initial content, isprovided, the program of instructions, when executing, performing thefollowing steps: receiving the initial content; receiving anidentification of at least one proposed recipient; receiving privateinformation associated with the proposed recipient from a source ofprivate information about the proposed recipient; receiving publicinformation associated with the proposed recipient from a source ofpublic information about the proposed recipient; identifying, based uponthe received initial content, the received private information and thereceived public information, at least a portion of the initial contentas the questionable content; and indicating, to the sender, theidentified questionable content.

In one example, the proposed communication comprises: (a) a textmessage; (b) an email; (c) a post; (d) a repost; (e) a friend request;(f) an instant message; (g) a forum post; (h) a chat room post; (i); awiki; (j) a file; (k) a document; or (l) any combination thereof.

In another example, the identified questionable content is indicated tothe sender by visually modifying the initial content.

In another example, the visual modification comprises one of: (a)highlighting; (b) bolding; (c) italicizing; (d) coloring; or (e) anycombination thereof.

In another embodiment, a computer-implemented system for identifyingquestionable content in a proposed communication from a sender, whereinthe proposed communication comprises initial content, is provided, thesystem comprising: a first receiving element configured to receive theinitial content; a second receiving element configured to receive anidentification of at least one proposed recipient; a third receivingelement configured to receive private information associated with theproposed recipient from a source of private information about theproposed recipient; a fourth receiving element configured to receivepublic information associated with the proposed recipient from a sourceof public information about the proposed recipient; an identifyingelement configured to identify, based upon the received initial content,the received private information and the received public information, atleast a portion of the initial content as the questionable content; andan indicating element configured to indicate, to the sender, theidentified questionable content.

In one example, the proposed communication comprises: (a) a textmessage; (b) an email; (c) a post; (d) a repost; (e) a friend request;(f) an instant message; (g) a forum post; (h) a chat room post; (i); awiki; (j) a file; (k) a document; or (l) any combination thereof.

In another example, the identified questionable content is indicated tothe sender by visually modifying the initial content.

In another example, the visual modification comprises one of: (a)highlighting; (b) bolding; (c) italicizing; (d) coloring; or (e) anycombination thereof.

In other examples, any steps described herein may be carried out in anyappropriate desired order.

In other examples, various embodiments may be applied in the context of:(a) social computing, collaboration and communications; (b) software:collaborative applications; and/or (c) software: data access, analysis,and delivery.

As described herein, various embodiments provide: (a) a deepunderstanding of a communication (e.g., social networking, blogging,micro blogging, email, instant message) in the context of an associatedvisibility network (e.g., email distribution list, instant message (oneor group chat), social network site wall (all)); (b) assimilation ofdeep knowledge about the visibility network (e.g., people's profiles,relationships, likes/dislikes/prejudices—this may be based off of: (i)people's public profiles; (ii) private data (e.g., emails, textmessages, etc) that the sender has about people including, e.g.,interests, prejudices, likes, dislikes; and/or (iii) public posts (e.g.,email, micro blogging posts, articles, blogs, books, etc. made byrecipients) including, e.g., interests, prejudices, likes, dislikes; (c)targeted suggestions for cleansing/softening/hardening of subjectmatter; (d) targeted suggestions (e.g., content was previously OK forgiven recipient, should be OK now) for adding/removing people to/fromthe applicable visibility network (e.g., adding people who may have ininterest in a communication and/or adding people to expand a sender'ssocial network); and/or (e) real-time alerting as a user types topossible issues the system discovers.

As described herein, in one embodiment: (a) a determination is made(e.g., based upon who would be able to see a communication (such as anemail or a social network post)) if one or more potential recipientsshould not see the communication in its current form (e.g., because thecommunication may make the potential recipient(s) upset or otherwiseuncomfortable); and/or (b) a determination is made (e.g., based on acurrent selection of who would be able to see a communication (such asan email or a social network post) as to who else should be included inthe visibility of the communication (e.g., based on the subject/contentof the communication and/or any additional information that can belearned about other(s) and their interests, etc.).

As described herein, various embodiments provide for controlling (e.g.,filtering, removing etc.) display of a communication content to a socialnetwork user based on characteristics (such as explicitly and/orimplicitly determined from public and/or private sources) correspondingto the social network user.

As described herein, various embodiments provide for analyzing contentof a communication to detect content that is sensitive (and/or relevant)for recipient(s) of a social network by analyzing recipient data, thepast recipient behavior; sender data, and/or the past behavior of thesender.

As described herein, various embodiments provide for identifyingsensitive content in a communication and suggesting a change inrecipient(s) and/or content.

As described herein, various embodiments provide for identifyingsensitive content and suggesting a change by providing a visual cue(e.g., highlighting or bolding).

In another example, a determination of latent meaning, degree ofpositive/negative, etc. (see e.g., content analytics of FIG. 1) may beperformed via Natural Language Processing (NLP). Such NLP may utilizeany appropriate known conventional technique.

In another example, information for the suggestions based upon thevisibility network and the private/public data (see e.g., impactanalytics of FIG. 1) may be obtained as follows. Once the meaning of thecommunication and the degree of positive negative etc., is known, adetermination of the visibility of the communication (who would be ableto see it) may be made. Once it is known who would be able to see thecommunication, a determination may be made as to what is known aboutsuch person or people. A comparison may then be made to compare what isknown about such person or people with what is in the communication(e.g., the degree of positive or negative, etc.) and an assessment maybe made as to whether the communication is “OK” for the person or peoplewho would see it. For example, if using NLP, a determination may be madethat the communication is very negative about topic X, and it isdetermined that Mary would see it. Further, it might be determined thatMary is very positive about topic X as she writes a daily blog about it,belongs to one or more social networking groups that support topic X,etc.

In another example, information for the suggestions may be produced (seee.g., recommendation analytics of FIG. 1) as follows. Therecommendations can be made based on the above—e.g., suggest that Marybe removed from the visibility chain, or tone down the negativity ontopic X. Or, in another example, assume the negativity is OK as thepeople who would see the communication don't like topic X. In yetanother example, another person who is currently not in the visibilitychain may be found and it may be suggested to add such person as suchperson would find this communication interesting (e.g., because suchperson is a member of groups that are anti-topic X). Another examplewould be that a user is posting about baseball, and it could berecommended that the user include his/her friend Tom with whom the useroften trades baseball related messages.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any programming language or anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the likeor a procedural programming language, such as the “C” programminglanguage or similar programming languages. The program code may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider).

Aspects of the present invention may be described herein with referenceto flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, systemsand/or computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus or other devices provideprocesses for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchartand/or block diagram block or blocks.

The flowcharts and block diagrams in the figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowcharts or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some implementations, the functions noted in the block mayoccur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocksshown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations,and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustrations, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

It is noted that the foregoing has outlined some of the objects andembodiments of the present invention. This invention may be used formany applications. Thus, although the description is made for particulararrangements and methods, the intent and concept of the invention issuitable and applicable to other arrangements and applications. It willbe clear to those skilled in the art that modifications to the disclosedembodiments can be effected without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention. The described embodiments ought to be construed to bemerely illustrative of some of the features and applications of theinvention. Other beneficial results can be realized by applying thedisclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention inways known to those familiar with the art. In addition, all of theexamples disclosed herein are intended to be illustrative, and notrestrictive.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for identifying questionable content ina proposed communication from a sender, wherein the proposedcommunication comprises initial content, the method comprising:receiving by a processor the initial content; receiving by the processoran identification of at least one proposed recipient; receiving, by theprocessor, private information associated with the proposed recipientfrom a source of private information about the proposed recipient;receiving, by the processor, public information associated with theproposed recipient from a source of public information about theproposed recipient; identifying by the processor, based upon thereceived initial content, the received private information and thereceived public information, at least a portion of the initial contentas the questionable content; and indicating by the processor, to thesender, the identified questionable content.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the proposed communication comprises: (a) a text message; (b) anemail; (c) a post; (d) a repost; (e) a friend request; (f) an instantmessage; (g) a forum post; (h) a chat room post; (i); a wiki; (j) afile; (k) a document; or (l) any combination thereof.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the identification of the proposed recipient comprisesone of: (a) a single email recipient; (b) an email distribution list;(c) a single instant message recipient; (d) a group instant chat list;(e) a social network distribution list; (f) a social network friendslist; or (g) any combination thereof.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinthe source of private information comprises one of: (a) one or moreemails sent by the proposed recipient; (b) one or more instant messagessent by the proposed recipient; (c) metadata associated with theproposed recipient; or (d) any combination thereof.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, wherein: (a) the one or more emails had been sent by theproposed recipient to the sender; (b) the one or more instant messageshad been sent by the proposed recipient to the sender; (c) the metadatahad been sent by the proposed recipient to the sender.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the source of public information comprises one of: (a)one or more emails sent by the proposed recipient; (b) one or more microblogging posts sent by the proposed recipient; (c) one or more articlesby the proposed recipient; (d) one or more blogs by the proposedrecipient; (e) one or more books by the proposed recipient; (f) one ormore social network site wall posts by the proposed recipient; or (d)any combination thereof.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein theidentified questionable content is indicated to the sender by visuallymodifying the initial content.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein thevisual modification comprises one of: (a) highlighting; (b) bolding; (c)italicizing; (d) coloring; or (e) any combination thereof.
 9. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the processor, anidentification of a plurality of proposed recipients; receiving, by theprocessor, private information associated with each of said plurality ofproposed recipients from a source of private information about each ofsaid plurality of proposed recipients; receiving, by the processor,public information associated with each of said plurality of proposedrecipients from a source of public information about each of saidplurality of proposed recipients; identifying, by the processor, basedupon the received initial content, the received private informationabout each of said plurality of proposed recipients and the receivedpublic information about each of said plurality of proposed recipients,at least a portion of the initial content as the questionable content.10. The method of claim 1, further comprising prohibiting, by theprocessor, the sender from completing the proposed communication untilafter the sender removes or changes the identified questionable contentthat is indicated to the sender.
 11. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising receiving by the processor, from the sender, an instructionto: (a) remove the identified questionable content that is indicated tothe sender; (b) change the identified questionable content that isindicated to the sender; or (c) any combination thereof.
 12. The methodof claim 1, further comprising removing, by the processor, at least oneproposed recipient from a distribution list based upon the identifiedquestionable content.
 13. A computer readable storage medium, tangiblyembodying a program of instructions executable by the computer foridentifying questionable content in a proposed communication from asender, wherein the proposed communication comprises initial content,the program of instructions, when executing, performing the followingsteps: receiving the initial content; receiving an identification of atleast one proposed recipient; receiving private information associatedwith the proposed recipient from a source of private information aboutthe proposed recipient; receiving public information associated with theproposed recipient from a source of public information about theproposed recipient; identifying, based upon the received initialcontent, the received private information and the received publicinformation, at least a portion of the initial content as thequestionable content; and indicating, to the sender, the identifiedquestionable content.
 14. The computer readable storage medium of claim13, wherein the proposed communication comprises: (a) a text message;(b) an email; (c) a post; (d) a repost; (e) a friend request; (f) aninstant message; (g) a forum post; (h) a chat room post; (i); a wiki;(j) a file; (k) a document; or (l) any combination thereof.
 15. Thecomputer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the identifiedquestionable content is indicated to the sender by visually modifyingthe initial content.
 16. The computer readable storage medium of claim15, wherein the visual modification comprises one of: (a) highlighting;(b) bolding; (c) italicizing; (d) coloring; or (e) any combinationthereof.
 17. A computer-implemented system for identifying questionablecontent in a proposed communication from a sender, wherein the proposedcommunication comprises initial content, the system comprising: a firstreceiving element configured to receive the initial content; a secondreceiving element configured to receive an identification of at leastone proposed recipient; a third receiving element configured to receiveprivate information associated with the proposed recipient from a sourceof private information about the proposed recipient; a fourth receivingelement configured to receive public information associated with theproposed recipient from a source of public information about theproposed recipient; an identifying element configured to identify, basedupon the received initial content, the received private information andthe received public information, at least a portion of the initialcontent as the questionable content; and an indicating elementconfigured to indicate, to the sender, the identified questionablecontent.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the proposed communicationcomprises: (a) a text message; (b) an email; (c) a post; (d) a repost;(e) a friend request; (f) an instant message; (g) a forum post; (h) achat room post; (i); a wiki; (j) a file; (k) a document; or (l) anycombination thereof.
 19. The system of claim 17, wherein the identifiedquestionable content is indicated to the sender by visually modifyingthe initial content.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the visualmodification comprises one of: (a) highlighting; (b) bolding; (c)italicizing; (d) coloring; or (e) any combination thereof.